ca’ amadi : venice : italy

ca’ amadi : venice : italy

One of the joys of staying in Venice, is trawling the internet beforehand, to find where you are going to stay. We’ve stayed in apartments and hotels, and thankfully have never had a bad experience. I do spend a lot of time reading reviews, scrutinising websites, looking a photographs, identifying the location and what’s in the vicinity. I think a bit of homework always pays off, as I’ve seen places we’ve rejected online, in reality, and for a variety of reasons, our research has always paid off.

Ca’ Amadi is a hotel we’ve stayed in twice, and on both occasions, have loved it. It’s initially quite tricky to find, because it’s in a courtyard, off an alley, off a road, but perseverance pays off. Google Maps, in the centre of Venice is a bit hit and miss, but it’s not too far from the Rialto Bridge and so if you keep this as your main bearing point, you’ll eventually find Ca’ Amadi, On our first visit, it was clearly in the early stages of a renovation, as scaffolding was up outside and on the second visit, interior work was happening. From checking out the website recently, it’s clear the renovations have been completed because it’s now even more beautiful than when we stayed. It’s a very authentic Venetian residence, once home to the family of Marco Polo, no less. As stated on the website…

This small boutique hotel is housed in the noble floor of a palace dated 13th century and still preserves many traces of its long history. Entering the hotel, you’ll be welcomed in a large salon with ancient wooden ceilings, facing on one side a picturesque canal and a typical Venetian court on the other. In this place, full of memories and emotions, you’ll be able to relive the splendour of the Republic of Venice and, at the same time, enjoy the most modern comforts. History, culture or just a break in the frenetic daily life: at Ca’ Amadi every traveller can find what he’s looking for.

And, if you are ever in this area of Venice, forget eating out anywhere near the Rialto Bridge – and take our advice and visit Il Milion, reputedly the oldest osteria still opertaing in Venice. With a tradition extending back more than 300 years and a location near the rear of San Giovanni Crisostomo, this restaurant is named after the book written by Marco Polo, Il Milion, describing his travels. In fact, it occupies a town house once owned by members of the explorer’s family, just like Ca’ Amadi, which is literally about thirty metres away.

At Osteria Il Milion, a simple, nine-table restaurant set in a tiny courtyard across from the home of Marco Polo near the Rialto Bridge, you will find some of the finest local seafood. One of the city’s oldest dining establishments, its name is derived from a story about Marco Polo, who was said to exaggerate the millions of things he had seen and the millions of miles he traveled, earning the ironic nickname, “Il Milion.” The food here, most notably the tagliolini with spider crab, risotto with scampi and zucchini, and John Dory and grilled polenta, has clean flavors that are not masked by sauces, butter, or cream. The ingredients are so fresh and intense that there is no reason to hide them. “I eat here every day,” says owner Roberto Bocus, “so it has to be good.”

And, if you take our advice and eat there, do make sure that you order the Spaghetti con le Cipolle – I promise you will never have tasted onions as sweet. We’ve eaten there a few times, and again every meal has been memorable – perhaps none more so than the Aqua Alta of 2018…

 

 

venice : italy : winter

venice : italy : winter

Winter is a gorgeous time of year to visit Venice. I’ve only been once in the summer and it was crowded. And hot. Accommodation was much more expensive and I think I just found it all a bit of a faff. So, whenever we go now, we choose to go in the colder months. You definitely can’t guarantee the weather and it’s always best to be prepared for the rain and the cold. And, as we found out in 2019, the Aqua Alta, when we experienced the worst flooding the city had known for many years. But other times, we’ve hit lucky and have had glorious sunshine and crisp weather. We even had the Carnevale when we visited in February and had totally not realised it was happening. Often though, it can be grey and cloudy, but this definitely doesn’t detract from the beauty of this city, and when the clouds break, and the wintery sunshine comes through, well – you just can’t beat Venice…

December is lovely, too, because the city is gearing for up for Christmas, and I can’t think of many places I’d rather be as the huge tree is lit up in St Mark’s Square, and the lights start to twinkle across the city.

We keep returning to Venice because it’s now very accessible from where we live in northern Istria, and because however many times we go, we obviously always discover new areas and new sights to discover. New restaurants and bars, and new hotels and apartments. It’s a city we will keep returning to, and imagining when we are there, that we are residents…

 

 

carnevale : venezia : italy

carnevale : venezia : italy

Apart from Easter in Seville – Santa Semana – we’ve not witnessed a spectacle quite as amazing as the Venice Carnival. We arrived in Venice on a cold, misty February morning, having booked two nights in Venice. Not even considering what time of year it was. We stepped off the water taxi, not really taking in what was happening around us, but something caught our eyes…

Mingled in with the tourists and Venetian residents rushing around, doing normal things, were figures like the one above. Some posing elegantly, clearly used to being a part of this spectacle. Some were strolling along in pairs, groups. Some had even been doing their shopping – I’ll never forget the sight of a Casanova type courtesan, carrying his evening meal supplies in a Conad supermarket shopping bag. And then it dawned on us – it was February. Carnival time!

As we headed away from the Grand Canal and further into the maze of streets and alleyways and bridges, more of these astonishingly beautiful beings appeared. We were utterly mesmerised. Initially, it felt a bit intrusive taking photos, but we quickly realised that the whole point of the promenading was to be seen and photographed, so a simple “Posso?” generally resulted in a very striking pose…

And, just to debunk the myth that Venice is prohibitively expensive, especially over the Carnival, we also enjoyed an afternoon of free theatre and opera in St Mark’s Square. An absolutely exhilerating experience, and definitely one we won’t forget…

 

 

venice : italy : 2013

venice : italy : 2013

Of all of the places we visited recently, Venice has to be one of the most memorable. We arrived on a cold, misty afternoon and were prepared for the weather to stay this way as we’d been under thick cloud all the way from Rimini. The lagoon, on either side of the road bridge into Venice was eerie, but still very beautiful, in the mist. Huge cruise liners, like floating cities, suddenly appeared out of the fog, signalling that we had reached Venezia…

Driving to Venice is a bit daunting – even after negotiating much of the length & breadth of Italy! – but through trial and error this is what we found out & hopefully it may be helpful if you too decide to take the car. Obviously, being all canals and water and bridges, you have to leave the car in one of the designated car parks outside the centre. Here’s our advice so that you’ll hopefully get there without attempting to kill one another.

  • At the end of the road bridge which connects Venice to the mainland, stay in the right hand lane and follow the signs for Garage San Marco. Stay in the right hand lane as this takes you to the SHORT STAY CAR PARK – relatively cheap, considering you’re in Venice (we paid about 12 euros for 5 hours)
  • Turn left out of car park and left again – walk across the bus concourse, up the steps/bridge and you’ll find Santa Lucia train station on your left & the Grand Canal on your right

We walked from this point to St Mark’s Square – it’s a long walk, through winding streets, piazzas, up steps, over bridges and you WILL get lost, but it doesn’t matter as it all leads eventually to the spectacular Piazza San Marco & the stunning Basilica. It is touristy. It is busy. The pigeons will dive bomb. But, it is one of the most breath-taking sights we saw in all of Italy. A fine reward after a very long walk…

It’s been a good few years since my last trip to Venice and we were better equipped this time to get around quickly and easily – which was just as well, as sadly, this visit was a flying one. We hadn’t even intended on stopping in Venice, having booked a hotel in Verona, and intending to spend the day there. However, the lure was just too much and we spend a fabulous afternoon strolling through the streets and alleyways and over bridges, before hopping back on a water taxi to collect the car and head off to Verona.

From Piazza San Marco, it’s very easy to get a shuttle back. (There’s also the options of water taxis, and if you’ve more money than sense, a gondola). The journey from St Mark’s to Santa Lucia (where you need to get off if you’re parked in Garage San Marco), takes about an hour and is probably the best way to see Venice. Carabinieri. Ambulances. Private gondolas. Speedboats. They’re all there – a magical experience!